Far EasTone is offering the Huawei model for less than NT$5,000, targeting young price-sensitive subscribers who want cellphones to surf the Internet.

Meanwhile, in September, Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) introduced a self-branded smartphone, Fantastic T3, at half the cost of most other brand models, but equipped with a 4.3-inch touch panel and rich in features.

Taiwan Mobile senior manager Cliff Lai (賴弦五) said that while the high-end smartphone market in Taiwan is almost saturated, demand for mid to low-end models is still on the rise.

Lai said high-end smartphones currently account for 50 percent of Taiwan Mobile’s total smartphone sales, while mid to low-end products take the other half, but are expected to rise to between 60 percent and 70 percent of the company’s total sales next year and become the mainstream in the smartphone market in the next couple of years.